Kendrick Perkins didn’t want to see his friends on the Boston Celtics eliminated in the second round.

He wanted to do it himself.

Perkins was hoping against hope for a Celtics vs. Thunder finals, but that is not going to happen with the Celtics eliminated (and his Thunder have some work to do still ). Perkins told the Star-Telegram he didn’t expect Boston to be gone this early.

“I am surprised,” Perkins said. “I wasn’t expecting them to go down 4-1. I was expecting at least a seven-game series, or them to win it….”

“I’d be lying to you if I would tell you I was disconnected from them,” he said. “One thing about it is I spent eight years over there.

“The only thing about it is that we knew everything about each other. When the trade happened it definitely was surprising to everybody, but this is a business. But at the same time I was wishing the best for those guys, wishing that we both could probably end up in the Finals and meet up for something crazy like that.”

Plenty of Celtics fans are convinced Perkins could have kept the Celtics in it. But unless he suddenly learned to score inside so they could better space out their offense, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Last season in the playoffs, the young and athletic Thunder tested the Lakers in the playoffs first round, but when push came to shove the Lakers shoved harder. They had Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol and the Thunder had no answer. Same thing when the two teams played a few weeks ago.

Now the Thunder have an answer.

A big answer. Kendrick Perkins, one of the most ferocious defenders in the paint the league has to offer. A shot blocker and good one-on-one post defender. A guy who will stand his ground. And he is backed up by Nazr Mohammed, so they Thunder bring a good defensive big off the bench, too. All that allows Nick Collison to play more four, where he will be more comfortable.

Combine that with the scoring you know you get from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and…

Are the Thunder title contenders?

Maybe. When a good team addresses its biggest deficiency, you have to take notice.

The key is if the arrival of Perkins sparks an overall defensive turnaround. Last season, while we were all being wowed by Durant and the Thunder offense, they were a solid defensive team. This season they are giving up 3.5 more points per 100 possessions than they did a year before as teams are shooting better and being forced into fewer turnovers. Not having a big man in the middle to protect the rim was an issue, but the Thunder didn’t have a rim-protecting big last season and did better on defense.

Plugging in Perkins and Mohammed alone will not be enough. The perimeter defense, the contesting of shots, the willingness to fight through picks has to improve also. Everything has to get better.

There are other questions. As ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz points out, Perkins has no shooting range. Having him in the game allows the big man from the other team to stay close to the rim and help defend better. Teams now will sag off the Thunder, clog the lane and dare them to beat them with the jumper

This move also comes with risks. One is Perkins knee, which is just 13 games off major surgery and already he has tweaked it again.

And there is the fact Perkins is a free agent this summer and could walk. Boston GM Danny Ainge seemed dismayed by what Perkins was asking in his next contract, so he decided to move him now. But most NBA players really only get one or two kicks at the can — the chance to get a contract that will set them up comfortably for life. In Perkins case maybe his family for generations. He gets one shot and he wants to go big, and you can’t fault him for that. This is his chance. And that may be too rich for Oklahoma City’s blood.

Whatever the outcome this was a brilliant move by Thunder GM Sam Presti. Jeff Green was going to make more than the Thunder wanted to pay him, so they shipped him out to fill their biggest need.

And if Perkins defensive energy becomes contagious, they may have a contender in Oklahoma City. And this trade will look even better.

When the Boston Celtics powerhouse teams of the ‘80s wound down, the wheels came off that franchise. There were a lot of factors; Len Bias was a big one.

Current Celtics GM Danny Ainge — a member of those teams — has said the Celtics made a mistake trying to ride the wave all the way in to shore, then they couldn’t paddle back out. They were not aggressive enough in dealing with the decline, something Zach Lowe reminded us of at Sports Illustrated.

Thursday ainge put that history lesson into action. He traded Kendrick Perkins (and Nate Robinson) for an overrated forward in Jeff Green and a nice backup center in Nenad Krstic.

It’s a move that makes the Celtics worse today. They have Glen Davis, but they are now counting on Shaquille O’Neal (and to a lesser degree Jermaine O’Neal) to be healthy and stay healthy through the playoffs. Kevin Garnett and his iron will are still there. But Perkins will now be scowling at Kevin Durant.

Boston did not become weak with this move — they are still a contender in the East. They had the best record in the East when he was out. They still could get another banner this year. They still have Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. They traded Semih Erden and Luke Harangody to free up roster spaces so they go get Troy Murphy — not Rasheed Wallace, he’s not coming — or someone else who is bought out. They will still be in the title hunt no matter what.

The risk is in the playoff matchups. Perkins is a good post defender. He was their man against Dwight Howard. Shaq cannot handle Howard as well and is far more foul prone. Big Baby struggles against him. It’s going to take a team effort. Thing is, the Celtics old strategy was to leave Perkins on an island with Howard and take away everyone else because Perk could slow Howard. This changes that game. But the Magic still have a host of other non-Howard problems, and Boston would still be a favorite.

But what about the Heat? Will the defense be the same when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade come driving into the lane? And the biggest threat, what about the Lakers? Andrew Bynum and Paul Gasol played volleyball with each other at the net in Game 7 when Perkins was out last season. Maybe the Lakers can’t get by the Spurs, but is that the risk you take.

Perkins might have left this summer for nothing. Boston made a four-year, $22 million offer to him (the max extension offer they could make off his current deal) and he turned it down. Perkins wants to get paid. Ainge didn’t want to risk that future, so he made a move. He got a good pick from the Clippers, and the Celtics don’t get a lot of quality picks (theirs are usually late in the round) so that is a plus. He got Jeff Green, who the Celtics drafted and maybe can start to approach the potential of his athleticism. The Celtics also have Rondo, who will be at the heart of their rebuilding efforts.

But to trade a core player in the middle of a championship window? That’s a ballsy move. A big risk. If Boston wins it all, Ainge looks genius. He has kept winning and started a transition to the future.

But if they don’t, if the Celtics lose somewhere along the line — especially to a team with great play up front — Ainge is going to hear it. Because most people want to ride that wave all the way into shore.